Just go ahead and get the deal done already.
Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay called the team “open-minded” when it comes to bringing back Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey, only further fanning the flames of a reunion.
“Usually, those are scenarios and situations that you have to have plans in place prior to executing some of the decisions that have occurred,” McVay said Tuesday. “Definitely don’t want to rule anything out because we’re always open-minded to onboarding and acquiring quality players and people like him if we’re able to do that, but there would be some obstacles that are real that are in the place of maybe preventing that from occurring.”
Speculation about Ramsey’s return to Los Angeles have swirled since he and the Miami Dolphins mutually agreed to deal the seven-time Pro Bowler in mid-April. Even Rams general manager Les Snead confirmed that he and the Dolphins front office had a conversation about Ramsey.
“I’ve had discussions with Miami,” Snead said April 22, later adding that “there are a lot of nuances to that situation based on all the things that come with a trade, contracts and things like that. I’m not sure where they’re at in the process.”
The All-Pro corner, for one, has not been shy about his love for Los Angeles. Ramsey, of course, spent 2019 to 2022 with the Rams, even helping to bring Los Angeles a Super Bowl during the 2021 season before the team dealt him to Miami in 2023.
“L.A. is like a second home for me,” Ramsey said prior to his 2024 return to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, later adding that “the community always treated me and my family with nothing but love and respect.”
A potential reconciliation between the Dolphins and Ramsey was always a long shot yet effectively fell apart when the nine-year veteran skipped last week’s mandatory minicamp.
“He is not here,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said June 10, calling Ramsey’s absence “excused.” “We are focused on building the Dolphins today, and anything outside of that, any sort of distractions I’m not focused on.”
The biggest obstacle to the blockbuster deal, however, is Ramsey’s price tag as he will make approximately $25.1 million in 2025. Los Angeles, however, waived fellow corner Derion Kendrick on Friday, a move that saved them about $3.4 million. The Rams did re-sign Kendrick Tuesday yet the extra cap space would certainly be necessary if a deal for Ramsey manifested.
“We’ve had conversations through the weekend with some teams about it as well,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said in late April following the 2025 NFL Draft, “so depending on what happens and if and when it’ll happen — whatever it is — we’ll make the deal at the appropriate time.”
Despite the Dolphins’ willingness to move on from Ramsey, the 30-year-old still remains one of the best corners in football. During his 27 game stint in Miami, Ramsey had five picks, 16 pass deflections and 82 combined tackles. Quarterbacks only completed roughly 59-percent of their passes with a rating of about 71.8 when throwing in his direction over the last two years.
The Rams, meanwhile, could desperately use an injection of talent in their secondary as the team finished the 2024 season ranked 20th against the pass.
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C. Isaiah Smalls II is a sports and culture writer who covers the Miami Dolphins. In his previous capacity at the Miami Herald, he was the race and culture reporter who created The 44 Percent, a newsletter dedicated to the Black men who voted to incorporate the city of Miami. A graduate of both Morehouse College and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Smalls previously worked for ESPN’s Andscape.